Is it possible to give a certain comicbook an educated grading? 0

[Cmsasek]

I’d like to know if this comic (The Amazing Spiderman #300) would be worth the financial investment of sending in to be graded.  I’m not familiar with the nuances involved with comic book grading, in particular knowing the which subtle defects will have the most bearing on a grade from the CGC.  It’s been stored in a plastic sleeve and cardboard forever and the only concerning defect I can find is the small impression on the cover (halfway up the cover / 3 inches right).  Any feedback would be appreciated. 

Thank you 

[comicdonna]

I would recommend getting it pressed, then graded.  CGC now offers a pressing service (CCS)so, you could accomplish both through them.  

[Tony S]

Your book looks to be financially worthwhile to get professionally graded and encapsulated. ASM 300 has long been a collectible issue and is very much in demand right now with Venom soon to have his own movie. It's also a book that tends to sell for more professionally graded than raw. As comicdonna mentioned, the book also looks like it would benefit from being pressed before graded.  Your copy shows a good amount of potential of grading fairly high.

Welcome to the boards! 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Tony S

[Philflound]

This book has a tendency of acquiring fingerprints on the back cover. Usually reflects on an angle, silver-blue. If yours has fingerprints or these colored smudges, you may want to try and take a tissue and wipe off as much as possible. This is a defect that will lower the grade and is something you can remove most of the time, or at least clean it up some. 

[justafan]

Im not a professional grader but from what i can see in those photos the book appears to me to have potential of being in the 9.2 NM- to 9.4 NM range a after a press with potential of getting white pages. Here are the other defects you may have overlooked:

2 color break spine creases on the front cover between 1/8" & 1/4"

1/8 light color fleck or color break edge bend at mid Top Front Cover edge

3-4 color break spine ticks on the Back Cover up to 1/8"

cant tell but there may be minor wear to the bottom spine corner.

that 3" impression bend in the middle front cover doesn't appear to break color so that should press out.

est. gpa value might be in the $400-500 range after grading

if you paid less than $350 for it, it would be worth a press and grade.

 

[Cmsasek]

 Thank you all for your feedback, and justafan thanks for the detailed CGC potential grade estimate.. I finally went ahead and sent it out last week to CGC, for both the pressing and grading.  From all the information I gathered and from what I’ve learned myself, I figured this book was a solid canidate for the pressing/cleaning service.  With that 3in. crease on the cover being the obvious black eye and yet thankfully no color break, beyond that the book is very solid.  My uncle, an avid comic collector, gave it to me on my 3rd birthday, already boarded and bagged and told my mom to try and not let me “get a hold of this one.”  According to her I didn’t, and it sat on shelf for the next 30 years.. anyhow, I’m sure it’s going to be a few weeks minimum before I get the book back, looking forward to seeing what they can do with it.  Thank you all again 

[James J Johnson]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 3:32 PM, justafan said:

Im not a professional grader but from what i can see in those photos the book appears to me to have potential of being in the 9.2 NM- to 9.4 NM range a after a press with potential of getting white pages. Here are the other defects you may have overlooked:

2 color break spine creases on the front cover between 1/8" & 1/4"

1/8 light color fleck or color break edge bend at mid Top Front Cover edge

3-4 color break spine ticks on the Back Cover up to 1/8"

cant tell but there may be minor wear to the bottom spine corner.

that 3" impression bend in the middle front cover doesn't appear to break color so that should press out.

est. gpa value might be in the $400-500 range after grading

if you paid less than $350 for it, it would be worth a press and grade.

 

Anyone who grades comics pursuant to their sales on a professional retail level, is by definition, a professional grader:

"engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime."

.

Edited May 30, 2018 by James J Johnson

[justafan]

2 hours ago, James J Johnson said:

Anyone who grades comics pursuant to their sales on a professional retail level, is by definition, a professional grader:

"engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime."

.

by that definition I guess that makes me....a semi-pro grader or enthusiast grader or hobbyist grader...

[Cmsasek]

Well the day of reckoning is coming soon, I hope.  Today the status of my book chganged from “Graded” to “Quality Control/Graded,” and from everything here in the forums, I’ve read it seems to be this is the last leg of the process before the grade is posted.  Ive also read people say there comic stayed in this stage anywhere from 1 day to weeks.. a very large spread.  I paid for the “Standard” service, which states an 18 business day turn around and tomorrow will be the 18th business day since the book was received.  With all this said, does anyone have an idea of how long I should expect my comic to remain in “Grading/quality control?”  As always, I appreciate any feedback .

thanks 

[ExNihilo]

9 minutes ago, Cmsasek said:

Well the day of reckoning is coming soon, I hope.  Today the status of my book chganged from “Graded” to “Quality Control/Graded,” and from everything here in the forums, I’ve read it seems to be this is the last leg of the process before the grade is posted.  Ive also read people say there comic stayed in this stage anywhere from 1 day to weeks.. a very large spread.  I paid for the “Standard” service, which states an 18 business day turn around and tomorrow will be the 18th business day since the book was received.  With all this said, does anyone have an idea of how long I should expect my comic to remain in “Grading/quality control?”  As always, I appreciate any feedback .

thanks 

I don't think I've had a book sit in Quality Control/Graded for more than a day or two.  It usually goes from Graded to QC to Shipped fairly quickly.  I suppose if it's stuck in QC for an extended amount of time, it means they caught something and wanted to have a closer look.

[Bomber-Bob]

6 hours ago, Cmsasek said:

Well the day of reckoning is coming soon, I hope.  Today the status of my book chganged from “Graded” to “Quality Control/Graded,” and from everything here in the forums, I’ve read it seems to be this is the last leg of the process before the grade is posted.  Ive also read people say there comic stayed in this stage anywhere from 1 day to weeks.. a very large spread.  I paid for the “Standard” service, which states an 18 business day turn around and tomorrow will be the 18th business day since the book was received.  With all this said, does anyone have an idea of how long I should expect my comic to remain in “Grading/quality control?”  As always, I appreciate any feedback .

thanks 

They are in San Diego this week = less staff in the office. This is absolutely the worst time to submit. You are correct, there is a possibility of a very large spread here if they are backed up in the encapsulation area. Anything guestimate we can offer would be just that, a pure guess. 

[The Lions Den]

9 hours ago, Cmsasek said:

Well the day of reckoning is coming soon, I hope.  Today the status of my book chganged from “Graded” to “Quality Control/Graded,” and from everything here in the forums, I’ve read it seems to be this is the last leg of the process before the grade is posted.  Ive also read people say there comic stayed in this stage anywhere from 1 day to weeks.. a very large spread.  I paid for the “Standard” service, which states an 18 business day turn around and tomorrow will be the 18th business day since the book was received.  With all this said, does anyone have an idea of how long I should expect my comic to remain in “Grading/quality control?”  As always, I appreciate any feedback .

thanks 

Standard is usually much quicker than Economy...it shouldn't be too long...maybe a week or so...

[Cmsasek]

9.2

When I first dove into this venture I was more or less convinced (by a couple shady comic book vendors) it would be graded an 8.0-8.5..possibly even lower. Suffice it to say I’m very pleased with the grade.  After compiling all the information gathered from these forums and chats I figured it should possibly score between a 9.0-9.4, but of course there was that small part of me that worried it could fall into the 8.0+ range.  Anyhow, Thanks again to everyone who gave me good info and advice! Looking forward to sending some more books out in the future 

[Artboy99]

what is going on with the bottom corner of the back cover? The picture you have of the book opened it appears the bottom corner of the inside back cover has a stain and a black line that suggests color touch.

Edited July 21, 2018 by Artboy99

[Not A Clone]

On 7/20/2018 at 9:03 AM, Bomber-Bob said:

They are in San Diego this week = less staff in the office. This is absolutely the worst time to submit. You are correct, there is a possibility of a very large spread here if they are backed up in the encapsulation area. Anything guestimate we can offer would be just that, a pure guess. 

I wondered about that. I sent in 15 books 3 weeks ago that got checked in early this past week. I guess the good thing is they got in ahead of SDCC but wondered if the actual grading would slow down with all of the Cons going on. I usually do most of my submitting during the winter & spring.

[justafan]

19 hours ago, Cmsasek said:

9.2

When I first dove into this venture I was more or less convinced (by a couple shady comic book vendors) it would be graded an 8.0-8.5..possibly even lower. Suffice it to say I’m very pleased with the grade.  After compiling all the information gathered from these forums and chats I figured it should possibly score between a 9.0-9.4, but of course there was that small part of me that worried it could fall into the 8.0+ range.  Anyhow, Thanks again to everyone who gave me good info and advice! Looking forward to sending some more books out in the future 

congratulations! I hear they are grading tough these days and that's a great copy to have. Thanks for following up.

[thehumantorch]

20 hours ago, Cmsasek said:

9.2

When I first dove into this venture I was more or less convinced (by a couple shady comic book vendors) it would be graded an 8.0-8.5..possibly even lower. Suffice it to say I’m very pleased with the grade.  After compiling all the information gathered from these forums and chats I figured it should possibly score between a 9.0-9.4, but of course there was that small part of me that worried it could fall into the 8.0+ range.  Anyhow, Thanks again to everyone who gave me good info and advice! Looking forward to sending some more books out in the future 

A pretty nice result.  The comic vendors may not have been shady, they’re grading the book in front of them and pressing and cleaning may have raised the grade.